Vending-machine.



R. P. WILTON.

VENDING MACHINE. v I v APPLICATION FILED AUG.8. 191A. i N v 1,160,557. Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

a SHEETSSHEET 2.

. E I 4% I I v E 4: I [L3 Hml" 4/ RALPH P. WILTON, OF WRIGHTSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

VENDING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

Application filed August 8, 1914. Serial No. 855.815.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RALP I P. \VILTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at lVrightsville, in the county of York and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Vending Ma chines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to vending machines, has particular reference to that type wherein the check releases the normally locked parts, and has for an object to provide a construction particularly adapted for feeding singly spherical objects to be vended.

Another object of the invention is to accomplish these results by a comparatively simple structure and relatively few parts which are so assembled and are of such construction that the spherical bodies to be vended are positively fed by gravity and delivered one at a time.

The above and other objects and advantages of this invention will appear from the following detail disclosure of the invention set forth in connection with one embodiment thereof, the same being disclosed in the accompanying drawings wherein,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the complete vending machine. Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the top of the machine, the receptacle being removed. Fig. 3 is a side ele vation of the machine enlarged and having the outer wall of the casing removed, the parts being shown in normal position. Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the parts in position upon the depression of the operating lever. Fig. 5 is a detail enlarged sectional view of the check receiving member. Fig. 6 is a vertical central section through the machine showing the parts in normal position. Fig. 7 is a similar view showing the parts in position when the operating lever is depressed and Fig. 8 is a detailed sectional view of the mounting of the slide.

Referring to these drawings wherein like parts are designated by similar characters of reference throughout the several views, 10 designates the casing of any approved and convenient form having a preferably transparent receptacle 11 on the topthereof held in position by a cover 12 and a plurality of securing rods 13 extending from the cover to the casing 10 about the receptacle 11. The forward side of the'casing 10 is provided with an opening 14 through which projects a delivery chute 15 of suitable formation to hold the article to be vended after the same is released from the machine.

As may be seen from Figs. 3 and 4 the Casing 1 is provided near one side with a coin chute 16 extending downwardly and inwardly from the front of the casing to a position immediately over a rotary operating member 17 in the form of a disk having an inwardly projecting peripheral flange provided in its upper side immediately beneath the chute 16 with a coin receiving opening 18. This operating member 17 is rotatable against a vertical wall or partition 19 arranged within the casing adjacent to one side thereof, and providing between the partition 19 and the adjacent side of the casing a chamber within which is contained the operating mechanism. The operating member or disk 17 is secured, as by a screw 20, to one end of a shaft 21 extending transversely across the casing within the forward end thereof, the shaft and member being held normally in the position shown in Fig. 3, to register the coin receiving slot 18 with the chute 16, bya spring 22. The spring 22 has one end secured to an arm 23 projecting radially from the shaft 21 and has its opposite end fiXed to the inner side of the partition or wall 19. The shaft 21 is provided near one end with a lug or projection 24 adapted for contact with a stop 25 projecting inwardly from the opposite side of the casing 10 whereby to hold the disk 17 in normal position. The disk 17 is operated by a lever 26 secured to the disk 17 and projecting forwardly through an elongated slot 27 in the front of the casing 10. The lever 26 is provided with a suitable finger engaging portion whereby the lever may be depressed to turn the disk 17 and the shaft 21 secured thereto.

As shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 of the drawings the disk 17 is held normally from turn ing so that the lever '26 cannot be depressed. The means for effecting this result is a pawl 28 hingedupon the partition 19 and hearing at its free end upon the peripheral flange of the disk 17. The pawl 28 lies in the path of a shoulder 29 projecting radially from the disk 17, which shoulder upon the slight depression of the lever 26 strikes the toe of the pawl 28 and the latter thus holds the disk 17 from further movement. The check, or coin drops from the end of the chute 16 by a support 30 of arcuate form arranged concentric to the disk and lying in spaced relation to the peripheral flange thereof.

From Fig. 5 it will benoted that the support 30 extends in thedirection of movement f the disk 17 a distance sufiicient only to hold the coin in the slot until the coin passes the pawl 28. The peripheral flange of the disk 17 extends but part way around the disk to admit of the positioning of a coin receiver 31 at the lower side of the disk and projecting up beneath the flange thereof to receive the coin as it is released from the support 30, and conduct the coin to the rear of the casing 10. The disk 17 carries an operating pawl 32 hinged to the outer sideof the disk at its lower end and projecting rearwardly under'the tension of a spring 33.

and engaging ratchet teeth 34 upon a toothed wheel 35 mounted for rotation upon the outer side of the partition 19. 'The toothed wheel 35 is adapted to receive a step by step movement from the pawl 32 during the operation of the lever 26. The toothed wheel 35 meshes with the pinion 36 secured to a spur gear 37 mounted for rotation against the outer side of the partition 19 near the-top thereof.

The casing 10 is provided with a plate 38 arranged horizontally in the top thereof having a raceway 39 uponwhich are circularly arranged bearings 40 supporting a rotatable bottom 41 for the hopper or receptacle 1-1. The bottom 41 comprises a disk like member having in its periphery a downwardly facing rack 42 meshing with the spur gear 37 and adapted to be rotated upon the turning of the spur gear. The bottom 41 is secured at its central portion to the horizontal plate 38 by a screw 43 or the like, which is loose and adapted to admit of the free turning of the bottom 41 upon the bear ings 40. 'l he bottom 41 is mounted on the bearings so that the same may spin when the lever 26 is forced down quickly. The operating pawl 32 is yieldinglyheld against the idle toothed wheel 35 to admit of the racing or spinning of the gears with the rotatable bottom 41. The object of this spinning or racing of the bottom 41 will be brought out more clearly hereinafter.

The horizontal plate 38 is provided at its rear end with an opening from which depends a tube 44 adapted to receive thearticles to be vended from the bottom 41. The bottom 41 is provided with two substantially semi-circular openings 45 near the peripheral edge of the bottom, the same being closed at their opposite ends by webs 46 con-' stituting feeders or propellers as will hereinafter appear. The middle portion of the bottom 41 is raised into substantially conical form and provided upon its upper face with a plurality of curved radiating blades orfins 47 adapted to feed the contents of the receptacle 11 toward the edge of the bottom and into the openings 45. The openings 45 are so located that they open directly down through the tube 44 and thus deliver to the tube the contents of the receptacle which fall into the opening.

In the middle of the casing, and beneath the horizontal plate 38, is disposed the separatingand feeding mechanism for the articles delivered from the receptacle 11. This feeding and delivering mechanism comprises a slide 48 having an intermediate tubular portion 49 normally held in register beneath the tube 44 and adapted to receive one of the articles to be vended from the tube. The slide 48 is otherwise provided with a smooth fiat upper face adapted to close the lower end of the tube 44 upon the forward movement of the slide, as shown in Fig. 7. When in normal position the arti- The slide 48 is provided with a tongue 53 which moves forwardly with the slide and beneath the neck 52 so as to close the lower end of the neck and retain the article therein while the slide is in its forward position. The slide 48, is suitably connected as by a link 54 to an arm 55 fixed upon the shaft 21, so that the rocking of the shaft 21 moves the slide and the spring normally holds the slide in rearmost position as shown in Fig. 6; i

The slide 48 is supported beneath the plate 38 and the tube 44 by guides 56 pro jecting inwardly from one side of the casing and from the partition 19, which guides engage in longitudinal grooves 57 formed in the sides of the slide 48 to support the latter and retain it in horizontal position during its movement.

The operation-of this embodiment of the invention is as follows :Normally the parts of the machine are at rest and in the posi-' tion shown in Figs. 3 and 6. When it is desired to obtain an article from the receptacle -11 a coin is inserted in the slot 16.v

The coin passes through the slot into the opening 18 of the disk 17 and is held in the passes-the toe of the pawl. The lever 26 a may now be moved down to complete a full 1 stroke as the pawl rides freely over the flange of the disk beyond the shoulder 29. As soon as the coin is carried beyond the end of the support 30, the coin is permitted to drop'through the slot 18 on to the receiver 31 which conducts the coin to any convenient place within the casing 10. As the disk 17 is turned by the depression of the lever 26 the pawl'32 is raised to catch mom of the teeth of the rack 34 to thus rotate the gear 35 and, through the pinion36 and gear 37, to 'rotate the bottom 41 of the receptacle.

As the lever 26 is given a quick downward thrust it will turn the gear 35 rapidly and thus cause the bottom 41 to race or spin, the pawl 32 riding over the teeth of the ratchet 34 and thus admitting of the comparatively free movement of the geared parts. As the bottom 41 rotates the fins 47 thereof force the balls or other articles to be vended toward the periphery of the bottom and into the openings 45. The abutments or webs 46 engage the articles and cause them to move with the rotating bottom in the openings 45. As the articles are brought to register with the tube 44 they drop into the tube and upon the flange 50 under the slide 48. The lowermost article riests Within the tubular portion 49 of the s ide.

As the lever 36 is depressed the shaft 21 I is turned in a'forward direction to move the slide 48 forwardly into the position shown in Fig. 7 This movement of the slide brings the top flat face thereof beneath the tube 44 to close the lower end of the tube and prevent the articles in the tube from falling through the bottom thereof. The single article which is carried in the tubular portion 49 of the slide is moved into register with the neck 52, is permitted to drop into the neck, and is held in such position by the tongue 53 of the slide. The parts remain in this position until the lever 26 is,

released. Upon the release of the lever the spring 22 turns the shaft 21 back in the normal position, turns the disk 17 to register with the coin chute 16, and raises the lever 26. As the shaft 21 is turned back into normal position it forces the slide 48 back therewith to move the tongue 53 from beneath the neck 52 and permit the article in the neck 52 to drop into the delivery chute 15 and roll by gravity to the forward end of the chute beyond the front of the casing 10. The article may now be lifted out of the delivery chute. As soon as the slide 48 returns to normal position the articles in the tube 44 are permitted to drop down, the lowermost article dropping'into the tubular portion 49 and resting on the flange 50.

When the articles in the receptacle 11 have been nearly all exhausted so that there remains but few articles therein, the webs or cause the same to travel in the opening 45 until the articles fall through the tube 44 into the delivering, and separating mechanism. When there are but few articles in the receptacle the bottom 41 is free to spin or race and thus insure the deposit of the articles in the tube 44. As the tube 44 and slide 48 contain a number of the articles, and as the bottom 41 is provided with two webs o'r abutments 46 equidistantly spaced apart, the feeding of the articles from the receptacle is insured as the bottom, even though moved slightly,-will feed from the receptacle the last article prior to the deliverance of the. number of articles contained in the tube 44 and slide 48. It is thus seen that the mechanism insures the delivery of all of the articles in the receptacle and that the operation is positive and that it cannot fail to operate or deliver an article if the same is in the machine.

While the above describes one embodiment of this invention it is to be understood that various changes in the detailed construction of the device may be made without departing from the spirit of this invention, the scope of the invention being defined in the following claims.

lVhat is clamed is- 1. In a vending machine, a receptacle, a

rotary bottom adapted for spinning in the receptacle, and means for setting the bottom in motion and admitting the spinning thereof to agitate and deliver the contents of the receptacle.

2. In a vending machine, a receptacle, a rotary bottom adapted for spinning in the receptacle, an operating lever, and a train of gears between the lever and the bottom whereby upon the operation of the lever to turn the bottom and admit the spinning thereof to agitate and feed articles in the receptacle. v

3. In a vending machine, a receptacle, a rotary bottom for said receptacle having an opening therethrough for the passage of articles from the receptacle, feeding devices middle portionof said bottom adapted to drop the contents of the receptacle into said concentric opening, a delivering mechanism be-. neath said bottom adapted to reglsterwith,

said opening and deliver the contents in certain predetermined proportions from the receptacle, and means for rotating said bottom ,to bring said abutments against the articles in the opening whereby to movethe same into register with said delivering mechanism.

In a vending machine, a receptacle, a

rotary bottom in the receptacle having an opening therethrough, a delivering mechanism beneath the bottom registering at one side with the opening in the bottom, an abutment on the bottom adapted to engage the articles within said opening to move the same into register with said delivering mechanism, and means for spinning said bottom whereby to insure the feeding of the articles in the opening to said delivering mechanism. v

6. In a vending machine, a receptacle adapted to contain articles to be vended, a rotary bottom in the receptacle having a raised middle portion for deflecting the articles toward the edge of the bottom, concentric openings in the bottom for the reception of said articles, abutments on the bottom adapted to contact with said articles in v the openings to move the articles with the bottom, a delivering mechanism beneath the bottom adapted to register with the openings at one side of the bottom, and means for turning said bottom whereby to bring said articles into register with said feeding mechanism.

7. In a vending machine, a receptacle, a rotary bottom in the receptacle, distributing devices on the bottom adapted to direct thev articles toward the edges of the bottom, said bottom having openings therein near the edges thereof to receive the articles, a delivering mechanism beneath said bottom communicating at one side thereof with said openings, abutments at the ends of the openings for engagement with the articles upon the rotation of the bottom, and an beneaththe bottom communicating at one side thereof with said openings, a reciproeating lever, and a ratchet mechan sm connecting the bottom tosaid lever whereby to rotate the bottom to move the articles into register with said delivering mechanism, said ratchet mechanism being adapted to admit of the spinnin or racing of said bottom independently 0 said lever.

9. In a vending machine a receptacle adapted to contain articles to be vended, a rotary bottom in the receptacle having an opening at one side thereof for the reception of the articles and having an abutment at the end of the opening for engagement ith the articles to move the same with the bottom, a tube fixed beneath the bottom and at one side, thereof and adapted to register with said opening upon the turning of the bottom, a slide movable beneath said tube having an article receiving pocket normally registering with the tube and adapted to contain an article to be delivered, a fixed plate beneath the slide to retain the article therein, a delivering neck at one end of the plate adapted to receive the article from the slide upon the movement of the latter, and a tongue on said slide adapted for move- 'ment beneath said neck to retain the article .feed articles to said tube and for reciprocating said slide whereby to deliver an article from the tube to said neck 'and to subsequently release said article from the neck.

10. In a vending machine, a receptacle adapted to contain articles to be vended, feeding means for feeding the articles from the receptacle, a tube beneath the receptacle for the reception of the articles, a slide beneath the tube having a pocket normally registering with the tube to receive an article therefrom, means for reciprocating said slide whereby to move the article from beneath the tube .and to close the bottom of the tube, a stationary neck for registration with said pocket upon the movement of said slide, a tongue upon the slide projecting beneath said neck to retain the article there-' in, and means for returning said slide to normal position to release the article from said neck and to register said pocket with said tube whereby to receive a second article.

11. In a vending machine, a receptacle, a rotary bottom for the receptacle adapted to feed articles therefrom, a delivery mechanism beneath said bottom to receive and deliver articles from the receptacle, a train of gears 'connected'to said bottom, and an intermittent one-way connection for said gears to set the same in motion and admit of the racing thereof to spin said bottom for feeding articles from the receptacle.

12. In a vending machine, a receptacle, a movable bottom beneath the receptacle, an operating lever, and aone-way connection between said bottom and said lever adapted to set the bottom in motion upon the depression of the lever and to admit of the continued motion of the bottom subsequent to the action of the lever.

In a vending machine, a receptac1e,va B movable bottom beneath the receptacle forfeeding articlestherefrom, an operating member, and a connection between said member and said bottom adapted to move the bottom upon the operation of the mem- 10 her, said connection admitting of the free. 1

continued motion of thelbottom when said my hand in presence oftwo subscribing witnesses; I v

, r RALPHP. WILTON. Witnesses: H; B.-MYE s,' Jofnn'Ro rm-j. 

